The Tennessee Athletic Commission has reviewed and issued five
individual suspensions and fine recommendations in connection with
the in-cage, post-fight brawl that occurred after the April 17
Strikeforce event at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn.

The commission, per its protocol, will not identify the individuals
until its administrative actions are finalized, either through
settlement or hearings.

In a meeting held Thursday in Nashville, the nine-member commission
voted to propose $20,000 fines and nine-month suspensions for all
five individuals at a formal disciplinary hearing. However, these
initial figures can all be reduced to fines ranging between
$5,000-$7,500 and three-month suspensions if the recipients do not
contest the proceedings and agree to “settle this matter with a
consent order.”

The proposed disciplinary actions apply to five of six individuals
who are in receipt of complaint letters mailed out in late April
and early May. The regulatory body is still waiting on one more
response request from a sixth individual issued a complaint letter
after the initial five were mailed. According to an e-mail from
Christopher Garrett, communications director for the Tennessee
Athletic Commission, the sixth person was not licensed by the
commission on April 17 and “there was some difficulty and delay in
identifying this individual and his address.”

In addition, two individuals face $7,500 fines in the settlement
phase. One is listed as unlicensed, while both failed to respond to
the complaint letters issued by the regulatory body. The
respondents also face "associated costs" in addition to the fines.
Garrett couldn't initially define what those costs referred to or
whether the suspensions would be retroactive from April 17 or would
begin upon the settlement dates.

Although the commission has not yet publicly identified the
individuals, Sherdog.com has identified four of the six cited as
Strikeforce middleweight champion Jake Shields,
lightweight champion Gilbert
Melendez, welterweight champion Nick Diaz, and
middleweight Jason “Mayhem” Miller.

Nate
Diaz, Nick’s younger brother and a participant in the April 17
incident, was not licensed as a cornerman that night and didn’t
initially receive a complaint, said his trainer Cesar
Gracie in April. However, Gracie indicated Thursday that the
younger Diaz brother, who fights for the UFC, received a complaint
letter at a later date than the rest. Gracie wouldn’t confirm if
Diaz is the sixth recipient the commission is awaiting a response
from.

On April 17, Miller and Cesar
Gracie camp members became engaged in a brawl after Miller
entered the cage without the commission’s or Strikeforce’s
permission to campaign for a rematch with Shields directly
following his five-round title defense against Dan
Henderson. A grounded Miller was shown getting punched and
kicked by multiple Cesar
Gracie team members during a live CBS broadcast.

The six respondents have the option to request a hearing in front
of the TAC within 30 days of any disciplinary action that is
presented to them. However, they risk receiving the heftier fines
and suspensions.

Both Gracie and Ryan Parsons, who represents Miller, told
Sherdog.com Thursday that they have not received the commission’s
initial findings yet and would need to review them before
commenting.

Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker had previously told Sherdog.com that he
would abide by any disciplinary action handed down by the
regulatory body. Coker already elected to not schedule Miller to
fight at Strikeforce’s June 16 event in Los Angeles in light of
Miller’s participation in the brawl.

Coker told Sherdog.com that Nick Diaz’s
contract to fight Hayato
Sakurai at Dream 14 this Saturday is a direct deal with the
Japanese promotion, which doesn’t give the American promoter
jurisdiction over the bout. Diaz faces Sakurai at the Saitama Super
Arena in Saitama, Japan.